


Cracked

by silverwolf_fox



Series: The Immortal Bird [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Blood, Body Horror, Gore, Hurt/Comfort, It's consensual, M/M, Oviposition, Potential trigger warning, amateur surgery, used archive warning just in case
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:54:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21864811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverwolf_fox/pseuds/silverwolf_fox
Summary: Despite being freed from the circus, Marco was left with a parting gift. Through the power of Breed's Devil Fruit, he has an egg growing inside of him, and he needs Ace to remove it.
Relationships: Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco & Portgas D. Ace, Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace
Series: The Immortal Bird [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1575142
Comments: 8
Kudos: 60





	Cracked

**Author's Note:**

> To celebrate Day 6 of Christmas: 6 geese a-laying, here is a tale involving Marco and an egg for a discord challenge.

Ace leaned back against bulwark and stared up at the top of the mast where he could see Marco standing in the crows nest, arms out to the side to take in the warm sun and ocean breeze. A few days had passed since he rescued the phoenix from the circus, and the zoan had been immediately welcomed into their family. Although the fires had caused such a disruption that the Whitebeards had to abandon port hours before they’d planned and earned Ace a week of cleaning duty—which could’ve been far worse but he was freeing enslaved performers and did technically have Pops’ permission.

The phoenix had been given a bunk with the Second Division - Pops thought it’d be better for Marco to have Ace nearby - but one of the crewmates sharing the room had told Ace that morning that Marco hadn’t slept in the room once since joining the crew. Ace worried that something was wrong, but aside from some initial apprehension about being around so many new people, Marco had been getting along with everyone.

Marco leaned over the side of the crows nest lifted a hand to greet Ace and, when silently motioned to come down, leapt down, transforming his arms into wings to slow his descent. One thing that Ace had noticed was that unless it involved him in some way, Marco wouldn’t shift into his phoenix form. When he landed, Marco bowed his head to tap their foreheads together before pulling back.

“Do you need something, yoi?” The intimate gesture still sent a red flush across Ace’s cheeks despite it being Marco’s favorite way to greet him, and it didn’t help that the blond refused to don a shirt.

“Just checking in. I heard you haven’t been sleeping in your room and wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m great!” Marco grinned and stretched his arms up overhead. He did that a lot, and Ace always found his eyes drawn to the expanse of tanned skin stretching across lean muscle where ribs could still be seen peeking out. It was hours after lunch, but his stomach was still slightly distended, like he had snuck another meal, even though Ace knew Thatch put Marco on an alternative feeding schedule to help get him up to a healthier weight. “I don’t usually sleep that much, yoi. I only did at the circus, because it was more fun than sitting alone in a cage at night. At least until you showed up.” The last sentence was said with a teasing smirk that had Ace fighting back a groan.

Clearing his throat, Ace rasped, “I, uh, that’s good. I’m glad.”

Marco hummed, sounding far too much like he knew the thoughts dancing around inside Ace’s head, but instead said that he’d see Ace later. Because of the Commander’s punishment, others took it upon themselves to show Marco the basics of sailing on the Grand Line, and the navigators were planning to teach him about Log Poses and map charting. The phoenix was like the shiny new toy onboard, and the different divisions were hoping to get him interested in their specialty, since his position in the Second was currently temporary as he adjusted to the pirate life.

Ace watched Marco as he walked away, finally tearing his eyes away before spending the day swabbing the deck with Thatch and Haruta snickering at him. Even Pops tossed a well meant quip his way about how well he and Marco were getting along.

Embarrassment caused flickering flames to sprout on his shoulders, and Ace let out a breath of relief when he was able to escape to the mess hall. Despite the teasing, he still lit up when Marco sat with him. Watching the phoenix relearn how to eat as a human had been amusing the first day, but, like everything else he seemed to do, Marco learned and adapted quickly.

Ace had hoped to spend more time with Marco that night but was given a vague excuse, and his brows furrowed as he tried to remind himself that Marco needed to make friends with other people too. Releasing a heavy sigh, Ace finished his chores for the day and headed to his room. He chucked off his clothes and set down his hat before crawling into bed. His narcolepsy often made falling asleep difficult, and it felt as though he had only shut his eyes for a moment before someone pounded on his door.

Murmuring a sleepy curse into his pillow, Ace got up and stalked over, fully prepared to barbeque whoever was on the other side. Standing in the hallway was none other than a distressed Marco, and the glint of a knife in his hand immediately cleared the fog in Ace’s mind and sharpened his senses.

Eyes darkened with emotion, the phoenix’s voice was thick as he said, “Ace, I need your help, yoi.” He pushed past Ace and turned around when he reached the middle of the room. A long glance down Ace’s body reminded him of his current lack of clothes. Watching him dash for the pants he’d left piled on the floor softened the anxiety on Marco’s face, but his shoulders remained tense.

Yanking the black shorts back up over his hips and lighting a candle on his dresser, Ace spared Marco a worried look. “What’s wrong?”

An unexpected blush darkened the phoenix’s cheeks, and he scratched the back of his head. Ace opened his mouth but Marco grabbed his hand before he could speak and placed it against his stomach. His fingers reflexively groped the smooth skin, cool to the touch compared to Ace who ran hotter than most. Even after Marco released him, Ace’s palm remained frozen against the firm abdominals until he realized that what he felt wasn’t muscle.

Glancing at Marco’s face, which was turned to the side to avoid eye contact, Ace crouched down and traced his fingers around the distinct bulge he’d earlier mistaken as a full stomach. It was lower, closer to the pelvis, and whatever it was felt about the same size as his fist.

“What the hell is this?” It was said half to himself, but his eyes shot to Marco, clearly expecting an answer.

Marco grimaced and hesitated.

“Marco,” warned Ace, “I can’t help if you don’t tell me.”

Ace felt the muscles tense beneath his hand. “It’s a,” Marco paused to clear his throat. “It’s an egg. Yoi.”

“An egg,” Ace repeated thoughtfully, staring at the faint curves cradled by his hand, before jolting to his feet and hissing in disbelief, “An egg?!”

“Yes.” The dancing light of the candle cut across the serious expression on Marco’s face and burned away any hope that it was a joke. Marco offered the knife he’d brought, holding it out handle first for Ace to take. “And I need you to cut it out of me.”

Taking several quick steps back and throwing up his hands, Ace rapidly shook his head. “Are you crazy? I can’t do something like that!” Marco matched him step for step and forced the knife into his hand.

“You have to. I can’t do it myself.” The sharp way he bit it out made it clear that it wasn’t an excuse. It was said as though he’d tried. Ace gazed at the sharp blade, and his narrowed eyes slid accusingly back at Marco.

“Is this what you’ve been doing every night?”

His gaze skidded away from Ace’s, and instead of confirming his suspicions, he said, “My healing kicks in too quickly, yoi, and I can’t focus on stopping it and cutting the egg out at the same time.”

“Don’t you think this is something you should talk to the doctors about?” Ace attempted to reason only for Marco to immediately snap at him.

“No!” He breathed deeply through his nose, then released it in a calming sigh. Dark eyes sought out Ace’s inflamed gaze. “Please, Ace. I need it to be you.” Looking at the unusually somber man, his hesitancy to show off his powers without Ace nearby suddenly made an unfortunate amount of sense. Standing in front of him wasn’t the confident man who’d taken to piracy like a duck to water; it was the phoenix who had been caged and put on display.

Ace stood frozen until he softly breathed out a resigned sigh. He motioned Marco towards the bed and ran a hand through his hair. Using his logia power to heat the blade, something Deuce taught him for sterilization, he watched the steel burn red hot. It was easier to focus on that than on the man adjusting himself to lay down on his sheets.

The blade cooled slowly, but it was still too fast for Ace. It couldn’t be put off anymore, and he joined Marco at his bed, where the other was stretched out, his loose trousers pulled down to bare a few extra inches of skin and allowing the beginning of crisp dark blonde hairs to peek out. Lying down, the bump raised by the egg was more prominent.

Standing over him, knife in hand, Ace quietly asked, “How’d this even happen?” It was a delay tactic, they both knew it, but Marco took pity on him and pretended not to notice.

“Breed. His power really was something else, yoi.” Marco touched a finger to the bottom curve and slowly ran it up the length of the bulge. “Without a womb, my body doesn’t know what to do when it’s commanded to grow an egg, so it picks a place. Usually in the abdomen, but one time it showed up behind my left shoulder,” he huffed a dry laugh. “It doesn’t know where to grow it, and it doesn’t know when to stop growing it. The egg will just keep getting bigger and bigger, which is why we have to remove it.” Marco’s final statement was delivered with a pointed stare.

Ace inhaled sharply but angled the blade over Marco’s flawless flesh, resting the tip where the top of the egg should be.

“It’s behind the muscle, yoi, so you’ll have to cut deep. Be careful not to break the shell.”

Marco took a deep breath, and Ace began. The sharp steel sliced smoothly into the flesh, crimson blood immediately swelling out of the cut. Cerulean flames flickered to life before being suppressed until they were extinguished. As much as he wished he could do this quickly, Ace forced his hand to slowly move deeper until it tapped against the solid eggshell.

Despite himself, a short burst of pride blossomed in Ace that he had successfully reached the fragile object without breaking it. It felt wrong to smile, though it was more a stress-induced quirk of the lips, and his eyes flickered to Marco. His eyes were clenched tight, sweat beading along his forehead and chest, and there was a drop of blood at the corner of his mouth from biting his tongue. White knuckled hands were clawing at the sheets seeking a firmer purchase.

Keeping the hand burying a knife inside his friend as still as possible, Ace used the other to grab Marco’s closest hand and set it on his warm waist. Fingers immediately dug into his skin, but he refused to wince.

Now that he’d found the egg, Ace dragged the knife down, cautiously cutting along the egg’s widest point. Every now and then he’d see a blue flame before it vanished, and they were always accompanied by a tightening grip on his waist. The farther he cut, the more the skin parted away until he could see a pale fleshy mass within, where it had been hidden behind the veil of abdominal muscles and was currently nestled amidst what Ace could only assume was the small intestine.

As soon as he could see the entire egg, he removed the blade and set it on the bed by Marco’s leg. Blood pooled out of the lacerated flesh, trailing down the slope of skin to flow along the ridges that outlined Marco’s abs. Such a thing had never bothered him before, but now Ace found it hard to swallow.

“Almost there,” he heard himself promise. There was no reply except for Marco’s thumb tapping his hipbone twice. WIth no time to waste, Marco in agony and blood steadily staining the sheets, Ace’s calloused fingers reached into the opened flesh, which earned him a deep grunt, the first and only sound Marco allowed himself to make since they started.

Everything was soft and wet and warm until the tips of his fingers curved around the underside of the egg and lifted it. The very instant his hands left the gaping wound, Ace shouted, “Clear!” and Marco’s torso exploded in a flash of golden cerulean fire. Basking in the healing light, Ace finally felt like he could breathe again and heard the fiery figure suck in his own deep breath, steady and free of the hitched pain that had driven it while Ace was cutting into his skin.

When the flames began to die down, Ace asked, “How’s my first ever patient?” trying to keep a light tone and prayed his voice didn’t shake as much as he feared it did.

It took a few agonizing seconds before Marco turned his head to the side and coughed to clear his throat of the blood his now-healed tongue had spilled, causing a light splatter of red droplets to hit Ace’s pillow. “I’m okay, doc. You did good, yoi.”

As if needing to confirm for himself, Ace moved the egg into one hand and stroked his palm down Marco’s stomach to the hem of his pants, unintentionally smearing the congealing blood that caked his flesh. His once bulging abdomen was flat and reflexively twitched in response to Ace’s heated touch. The skin was smooth and unbroken, as perfect as it had ever been and showing no signs of its previous mutilation. Lost in thought, Ace didn’t notice Marco raise his hand and place it on top of his own.

“I promise I’m fine, Ace. I can’t even feel it anymore.” The words did little to soften the worried furrow of Ace’s brow, but the physical contact helped calm him, as did the solid fingers still holding tight to his side. Dark hooded eyes moved to the bloody thing cradled in Ace’s other hand. “Is that it?”

They gazed at the egg together. It was even larger than they had expected and covered in a fleshy membrane. It was soft and squishy, wet with something that felt more like mucus than blood, but Ace’s thumbnail easily peeled it away, revealing a smooth white surface beneath. The warm blood that painted his fingers left smudges on the pale shell as he pulled off the external layer and incinerated it in his fist. Offwhite with blue speckles that gathered together in a pattern reminiscent of the phoenix’s fire.

Ace soundlessly offered the egg to Marco who sat up to accept it before moving the bloodied knife to the top of his dresser. Holding it close to his chest, he admitted “I’ve never actually gotten to hold one before, yoi. Breed always took them away right after cutting them out.”

“What did he do with them?”

“Sold them off to nobles as some kind of gourmet breakfast, I think.” Marco had the gall to laugh at Ace’s shocked and disgusted expression. “I suppose eating a phoenix egg counts as a status symbol, yoi.”

Marco fiddled with his egg, feeling the miniscule bumps as his soft fingers traced the speckled fire design. He used a nail to scrape away the bits of blood that stood stark against the pale background. As some darkened flecks fell, he glanced down and grimaced when he saw the layer of blood coating his belly. He moved to get up, but Ace dropped a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Let me,” he insisted. Ace silently asked for the egg back and laid it on his pillow before suddenly hooking an arm under Marco’s legs and around his back and sweeping him into his arms. Marco choked but did nothing as Ace carried him out of the room and down the hall to the showers. Luckily it was empty, but Ace took him straight into one of the stalls and began undressing them both.

It was the wide, hazy eyes that stopped Marco from saying anything. Even though he was fine, arguably better than he was before, it was obvious to him that Ace needed to do this, and so he calmly stood by with an understanding smile as Ace turned the shower on and lathered his hands with soap.

The water was cool and soothing on his sweat soaked skin. Heated hands started at his shoulders and slid down his torso. Circular, methodical strokes slowly cleansed Marco of his blood, but the vague detachment in Ace’s gaze made Marco wonder if he was even fully aware of what he was doing. Only after Marco was fully washed head to toe was Ace satisfied. The dark haired man grabbed a towel before Marco even had a chance and set to drying the older man off then himself.

Marco wasn’t even surprised when Ace redressed them and picked him up to take him back to the young commander’s room. He was set down as the door shut behind them and immediately walked over to grab the egg. Meanwhile, Ace stared at his bed with a mixed expression. The sheets were soaked with blood and sweat, and there was nothing he could do beyond tearing them off and dumping them to the floor.

Sitting on the bare mattress, Ace looks at Marco, suddenly unsure of what to do next. The phoenix joined him, and they were both silent for a moment until Marco asked, “Will you do something else for me, yoi?” Ace nodded without hesitation, and Marco held out the egg to him. “Could you please destroy this?”

“A-are you sure?”

Marco nodded. “This is the last reminder I have of the circus.”

Understanding immediately, Ace took it into his hands and lit them on fire. He urged the flames to burn brighter, hotter, watching the once pale shell darken to a crispy black before the entire thing eventually crumbled into ash.

Feeling as though one of the chains holding him back were broken, Marco grinned and fell back against the mattress. He knew Ace wouldn’t ask, so he gave voice to their desire.

“Is it okay if I stay here for the rest of the night, yoi?”

“Of course.”

Ace blew out the candle he lit earlier and lay down, and Marco found himself curling around the warm body, tucking his head into the other’s shoulder. Arms wrapped around him and pulled him impossibly closer to Ace’s heat. Ace could feel Marco’s warm breath puffing against his chest but wasn’t sure if he had already fallen asleep.

“Marco?” he whispered into the darkness.

A quiet, sleepy grunt answered him.

“You can always count on me, but please don’t make me have to do something like this again.” He squeezed Marco and buried his face into the tuft of blond hair.

“I won’t,” Marco promised, moving an arm over Ace’s waist. As the warmth of Ace’s skin lulled him to sleep, Marco murmured a quiet, “Thank you, yoi,” before drifting off.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun Fact: Marco’s phoenix egg had two, light blue yolks inside.


End file.
